- Paperback: 64 pages
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co; New edition edition (Mar 19 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0395813115
- ISBN-13: 978-0395813119
- Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 17.3 x 0.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,672,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-Six short stories, set in Trinidad, from the author of A Wave in Her Pocket (Clarion, 1991). The narrator is Amber, 12, who gathers with her cousins to listen to her grandaunt's stories. Tantie's tales are filled with images of the supernatural, from the duennes who threaten newborn babies who are not properly baptized to the mermaid of the title story who loses her human form when she defiantly goes for a swim on Easter Sunday. Several selections are meant to teach a lesson. The best of these is the moving "Obeah Woman's Birthday Present," which tells of an ungrateful child who banishes an old neighbor from his birthday party and throws her gift over the fence. Others offer a history of Amber's family and community. This volume has fewer figures from African and Caribbean folklore than the earlier book, and more of the stories are rooted in the lives of the children themselves. While some of the selections are better than others, all hold readers' interest, and even the briefer ones are reasonably well developed. The earlier title features unusual and distinguished scratchboard illustrations by Brian Pinkney; Perrone's illustrations are attractive but not extraordinary. Nevertheless, this volume complements the first one well and adds another dimension to Tantie's tales.
Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Siena College Library, Loudonville, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Siena College Library, Loudonville, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gr. 3-7. Tantie, Amber's great-aunt, passes the traditions and values of their Trinidad culture to the many children in the extended family. She has chosen Amber to be her successor, and it is Amber who faithfully records these stories, giving them the flavor of the Trinidad patois but keeping them completely intelligible to the American reader. Tantie's stories all have a tinge of the supernatural. For example, in the title story, Jill mourns her identical twin sister, Tilly, who, 50 years earlier, defied the prohibition against swimming on Easter and disappeared beneath the waves. Swimming out to save her, Jill, overcome by exhaustion, was saved when Tilly took hold of her hair and towed her to shallow water. Tilly had been turned into a mermaid, but the sea did not recognize Jill as a separate person, believing her to be Tilly's reflection. Tilly remained in the sea, and Jill never aged after that day. These are wonderful tales to read aloud to middle-graders, who will want to reread them to scare themselves all over again. Sheilamae O'Hara
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent addition to the multicultural literature for late elementary school students, April 11 2010
By Charles Ashbacher - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Mermaid's Twin Sister: More Stories from Trinidad (Paperback)
The people of the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean have a wide variety of ethnic origins; this is reflected in the stories told to their children. There is a distinct African presence as well as contributions from Europeans, Asians and native islanders. This collection of stories exhibits those traits as well as others injected due to the fact that Trinidad is an island in a warm sea.One of the best ways for children to experience multiculturalism is to read or to have read to them the folk tales of other lands. These stories contain a bit of history, describe the "boogeyman" of Trinidad culture, talk about the enchantment of the sea and explain how the people of the island managed to recover from the devastation of a hurricane. They are well written, making them an excellent addition to the multicultural literature for late elementary school children.
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